The Tale of a Jerk and a Scientist

[denigrator]

Characters: Hojo and YOU
Setting: Throughout the tower. Pick a floor, any floor.
Format: Action to start, but I'll match prose, too
Summary: After some time spent wandering his ruined world like a ghost, Hojo has returned to the Tower. His first priority? Research.
Warnings: A complete lack of scientific ethics, which may come up.


[A great deal has gone on in Hojo's absence--he's been gone months!--and this has had the unfortunate effect of upsetting so much of his research. He has absolutely no idea what's happened while he's been gone.

So what's a scientist to do? Make his way through all the floors he had been so carefully studying, trying to salvage what he can. Sometimes he talks to himself. Sometimes he hums. Off-key or tunelessly. Sometimes he scowls and stops to take notes. Sometimes he smiles. And stops to take notes again. He grits his teeth, doing his best to ignore the cold. He's worked in cold (very cold) climates before. Fortunately, he has a Fire Materia, which provides some warmth.

One might find him in the cafeteria, taking samples of the oatmeal.

In the observatory, he spends a long time looking out, studying the strange creatures visible through the glass.

He takes soil samples in the graveyard, and biological samples on floor Forty-One, collecting insects. He plucks a few blossoms in the meadow (Twenty-Five) and in the garden (Twenty-Nine).

He stops in the clinic to deal with a few of the wounds he's sustained along the way.

He pauses to enjoy the morgue (Twenty-Six) and the laboratory (Twenty-Seven), looking for traces of his old research with Fuhito. He doesn't find much, though what he finds, he gathers up. What a shame. So much work lost. All the more reason to work more, and harder.]

So much to do, so much...

Comments

[denigrator]

[What. What is this.

Hojo turns with a frown. He's not particularly fond of whimsy, unless he's responsible for it, and then it's generally awful.

But his answer is honest and straightforward enough.]

Research.

[terreifying]

Oooh.

[Rei tries to peer at the samples in his hands.]

Are you some sort of scientist then?

[denigrator]

That's a brilliant deduction on your part.

[Lab coat and all.]

Yes, I am a biologist.

[And other things, besides.]

[terreifying]

Biologist...

[She seems to be considering something.]

Do you just work with plants, or can you work with animals too? What about humans?

[denigrator]

What kind of third rate biologist do you think I am? A botanist? I can work with any life form.

[terreifying]

Even those that look human but are different?

[denigrator]

I said any life form, didn't I? In fact, I'd be particularly interested in someone of that kind. [Now he's intrigued.] And why do you ask?

[terreifying]

Oh, because it kinda matters to some stuff I'm doing. What if their bodies were being weird? Like not acting the way they usually do. Would you be able to fix that or are you not a doctor?

[denigrator]

I see, I see...

Fix? Yes. I can certainly fix things, but it depends on the problem. It sounds like one I might be able to fix.

[terreifying]

[And then she gently tips up the bag on her head, showing the red eyes that have opened up on her chin.]

One like this?

[denigrator]

I see... [And Hojo smiles.]

Yes. I might be able to. Do you know what the cause of this problem might be?

[terreifying]

[She shakes her head.]

Everything went weird two days ago.

[It wasn't just her body. Her mind too had problems. There were periods when she would more or less blank out and her brain would be filled with the songs of Angels. Songs that urged her to return everyone to a singular state of being.]

[denigrator]

Tell me, then, what is your origin and nature? I need to know what you are and how you were made if I'm to fix anything.

[terreifying]

I'm Rei.

[The same cryptic answer she has given to everyone who asked the question.]

And I don't really know if I can tell you how I'm made. I didn't make myself.

[denigrator]

I am Professor Hojo.

You know nothing about your construction or nature? Any information could be useful.

[Uneducated experiments, how tiresome. Not that he educates his own experiments, but in this case, he'd like to know.]

[terreifying]

I know I'm Rei. That's what I am. That's my nature.

[It's a little weird having to talk about what she is exactly.]

And my Big Mommy was Lilith, it that helps.

[denigrator]

Do you? That's not particularly useful, no.

I suppose I could examine you to determine whether I can discover anything useful.

[It could be interesting. Possibly.]

[terreifying]

If it helps you cure my problem right now, then okay.

[Examinations can't be too bad.]

[denigrator]

I have no idea if I'll be able to cure your problem or not.

I'll just need to do a cursory survey and take some samples.

[terreifying]

Just samples like blood, right?

[It was something else that Rei was unsure about. Did she have blood or LCL running in her veins?]

[denigrator]

Blood, skin, saliva, hair, yes... Nothing too complicated.

[terreifying]

I'll do my best to give you those things. But...what about the rest of my body?

[denigrator]

And what do you mean by that?

[He had the idea that there was something a little lacking in this girl--but then, he did tend to think that about most people.]

[terreifying]

Not much. Just that samples might not tell you that much about my body. At least, not what I need fixed.

[denigrator]

One has to start somewhere.

I'll begin with samples and go from there. If you'll accompany me to the laboratory... And tell me as much as you can about the problem.

[Maybe this will prove to be interesting. Why not? He is intrigued by the other unusual subjects in the Tower.]